Daniel Andrews’ nine years as Victorian premier were marked by political achievements and progressive policies, but also mass protest and a long list of political controversies that ultimately undermined his popularity.
Andrews’ hardline approach to the Covid pandemic made him a national figure. Melbourne’s 20 months in-and-out of lockdown drew praise from some but scorn from others, who sought to make him a figurehead of protest.
When a lockdown was expanded in August 2021, thousands of unmasked people marched through the streets of Melbourne with some clashing violently with police. Some elements of the crowd chanted “hang Dan Andrews”.
More than a year earlier, Andrews made no apology for his tough approach to the pandemic. “This is not a popularity contest; it’s a pandemic and we’ve got to make good, logical decisions,” he said. No apology was offered when the ombudsman found a lockdown of public housing towers breached human rights.
Despite protest and fierce criticism from sections of the media, Andrews’ approach to the pandemic was vindicated at the polls. Last year, Labor surpassed the emphatic 2018 “Danslide” result to win a third-term. “Hope always defeats hate,” Andrews said on election night.
Beyond Covid, Andrews was a progressive who delivered key policies. His government legalised voluntary euthanasia, gave same-sex couples equal adoption rights, decriminalised sex work and delivered a safe injecting room. Victoria was the first jurisdiction to negotiate a treaty with First Nations peoples.
In 2016, Andrews delivered an apology to those convicted under laws penalising homosexual acts, telling the parliament: “It’s never too late to say sorry – and mean it.”
In his final press conference as premier, Andrews highlighted his recently announced shake-up to housing policy, infrastructure projects such as the Metro rail tunnel and the state’s women’s health agenda as some of this proudest achievements.
But controversy was never far away from the Andrews government.
In 2022, Victoria’s ombudsman found no evidence that Andrews “designed, propagated or facilitated” the so-called “red shirts” scheme that saw almost $400,000 in public funds misused during the 2014 election campaign. But the incident dominated headlines.
That same year, four ministers in the Andrews government lost their portfolios over a branch-stacking scandal. Andrews apologised for the “disgraceful” behaviour and promised to implement all 21 recommendations of the Operation Watts report, plus additional legislative reforms for all parties.
In June 2020, Andrews sacked his minister Adem Somyurek after he was hit with accusations of branch-stacking and was caught making sexist and homophobic remarks about fellow MPs and party members. Andrews said Somyurek’s “conduct and comments” were “completely deplorable”.
In 2017, Labor faced an allowances scandal. The former deputy speaker Don Nardella’s refusal to repay more than $100,000 he claimed for living outside his electorate cost him his spot in the party.
And then there was the Patch and Ted scandal of November 2016, when training and skills minister Steve Herbert resigned for using his taxpayer-funded driver to chauffeur his two dogs between his Melbourne and Trentham homes.
Most recently, Andrews denied power was centralised in his office, after an anti-corruption inquiry found a $1.2m contract was awarded to a union due to pressure applied by Victorian government advisers.
He shocked the sporting world by announcing Victoria would no longer host the Commonwealth Games, telling media the cost had blown out from $2.6bn to $6bn and he was not prepared to redirect money from other parts of his government’s budget to make up the shortfall.
After maintaining relatively high approval rates during the pandemic and wining the 2022 state election, more recent polls reported a dip in numbers after the Commonwealth Games decision.
Despite a Roy Morgan poll from July finding that for the first time in nine years more Victorians disapproved of Andrews’ performance than approved (55-45), Andrews in the end believed he was going out on a high.
“There’s an old saying in politics,” Andrews said while announcing his resignation on Tuesday. “Go when they are asking you to stay.”
